A little clutch help, please !

I finally have time to work on my '94 2wd. I bought it with a broken clutch cable and worn out clutch, according to the previous owner. I have never done a clutch before but followed the Haynes manual and have the bell housing loose but it seems hung up. I was able to slide it back about an inch and a half, enough so I can see the flywheel but no further. It pivots a bit from side to side but that's it. What am I missing? I tried a pry bar between the housing and flywheel but am not sure if this is appropriate.

Whatever you do - DO NOT USE A PRY BAR AS LEVERAGE BETWEEN THE FLYWHEEL AND THE BELL HOUSING (don't apply any force against the face of the flywheel as you could seriously damage it or the crank). I don't want to sound like a smart@ss but have you removed the gear shift lever assembly and tail shaft? It will only give you a small amount of clearance with both of these still installed. Clutches aren't much fun to do for a noob but if you follow procedure, it will be a sort of slow process but you'll be able to get it installed. Good luck and ask questions, it will save you grief if you get stuck and there are plenty of members that can advise you how to get it right. :thumbup:

There is very little clearance between the firewall and the bell housing, and my experience was that the engine had to tilt back a bit to get the transmission out completely. Though I tried to support the engine, it ended up just leaning against the firewall. No harm was done, but it was a real struggle, both for ground clearance (jack stands gave minimal height) and getting the trans out.

Be sure also that your back-up light switch is disconnected. As Geezer points out, we're not trying to be smart~asses: we just know sometimes the simplest things get overlooked. We know from personal experience!!

don't forget the Speedo cable also (been there done that). dropping just the tranny is a PITA, I always pull the Engine and tranny together, then split the package on the floor, much easier...IMHO

http://www.mmeierle.com/images/Max/R...20pass%202.jpg

I just had my 1994 clutch replaced, and after 1k miles, the cable snapped. The mechanic who replaced the clutch is now installing a flywheel shim and machining the flywheel as a fix. Does this seem normal? Is there another reason the cable would have snapped? First, we replaced the cable but every time we adjusted it, and turned car on to test, it went out of adjustment..

Might only be me but I have never actually heard of anyone having this much trouble with a clutch cable. You might have gotten a dud clutch cable out of the box. I have heard of a few clutch and transmission shops being weary of installing heavy duty pressure plates in these trucks as the cables take a beating.

I had a different issue removing a tranny on Geronimo - I had pulled his tranny to get it rebuilt. The temporary tranny I went to put in had some rust on the nose of the shaft, and got stuck half way into the pilot bearing. When we went to pull the tranny back, the pilot bearing came out of the flywheel and hung up on the pressure plate fingers. We had to unbolt the pressure plate from the flywheel to get the tranny out - good thing the truck was on a lift!

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Originally Posted by mafiaxts4life

I just had my 1994 clutch replaced, and after 1k miles, the cable snapped. The mechanic who replaced the clutch is now installing a flywheel shim and machining the flywheel as a fix. Does this seem normal? Is there another reason the cable would have snapped? First, we replaced the cable but every time we adjusted it, and turned car on to test, it went out of adjustment..

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To me it sounds like the release fork is bending and getting ready to snap. It happens. OR it is binding in the bushings or they are worn out and need to be replaced along with the fork. We seen it a thousand times on here.
To check the cable adjustment just put a stripe on the rubber so you can see it. Then you can visually see if the adjuster is turning. It also could be the incorrect pressure plate. You should not need to shim it. I have never herd of doing that. It sounds Micky mouse to me. These trucks do not need anything other then the stock pressure plate. There is not enough HP to warrant it. 100 HP is not that much.

I believe I have everything disconnected that needs to be but it just seems stuck. I have clearance at the tail and can tip it down and to the side. I am going pry between the housings and will be careful around the flywheel . Thanks for the replies!

is the firewall breaking/flexing?

I ended up putting a come-along on the transmission and pulled it back enough to see my problem: the top bolt on the drivers side goes through a sheet metal like clip that was hanging up the tranny. Backed the bolt out and it was off!

Wait till you try and put it back together :-) that clip for the waterpipe and bolt is a SOB.

I will be really happy when it's all back together, that's for sure. I am not looking forward to either of those top bolts!

Do be sure to let us know how it all turned out!